A debate about whether Little Caesars franchises in the Portland area can sell take and bake pizzas to people on food stamps has been ongoing since 2010.

A federal judge is trying to sort out a mess created more than a year ago, when government officials permitted a dozen Little Caesars franchises in the Portland metropolitan area to accept food stamps for take-and-bake pizzas, then abruptly yanked their approval with little explanation.

At a hearing Thursday in Portland, U.S. District Judge Garr M. King said that owners of the pizzerias appear innocent of any wrongdoing -- other than taking the word of the government's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP.

A lawyer for the Little Caesars franchisees, Jeff Pitzer, told King that if the businesses are forced to withdraw from the food stamp program, they will have to lay off up to 25 employees in the metro area.

BY JACOB PALMER

BY JACOB PALMER

Most of the food Americans consume is trucked in from hundreds of miles away. Eric Wilson, co-founder and CEO of Gro-volution, wants to change that. So this past spring, the Air Force veteran and former greenhouse manager started work on an alternative farming system he claims is more efficient than conventional agriculture, and also shortens the distance between the consumer and the farm.

BY STUART WATSON

BY JON SHADEL

The technology industry is always in flux. And this rapid rate of change poses challenges to companies ranging from nimble startups aiming to make their mark to established organizations fighting to remain relevant. This is particularly true in the competitive digital display market, where an Oregon company has been at the forefront of nearly every major breakthrough in the last three decades.

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Robert S. Wiggins has joined Lane Powell as a Shareholder in the Corporate/M&A Practice Group. Wiggins is a well-known lawyer, entrepreneur, and investor with more than 30 years of experience leading and advising established and emerging companies in the Pacific Northwest. Wiggins will focus his practice on offering outside general counsel services, including general corporate and board representation, business transactions and capital events.